Raise Your Standards To Transform Your Life

This is the time of year that I particularly enjoy, when things really start to get going for those that are committed -or end for those that are not…

People fall off the wagon in a big way as Dry January ends and they give themselves permission to make up for a number of missed nights out! The fad diet books go back on the shelves to collect dust and the gym floor starts to get a bit quieter.

For those of you that really did have good intentions at the start of this year, take the time to read through this article and I hope it will help you to decide that you’re not going to give up on your health and fitness goals just because January is over. Committing to change comes down to one simple rule:

If You Want To Succeed, You Have To Raise Your Standards

We all know that deep down things can be a better for us.

No matter how great you are doing now, you can always do better. Just take a minute to visualise your dream life. Maybe you want to travel the world. Finally write that book. Get that six-pack. Start a family or improve your relationship with your children.

Now imagine what would happen if that dream turned into your standard.

No more ‘I want to feel more energetic.’ or ‘If only I could work on my music career full-time.’ Flip those dreams, those aspirations (that you’ve probably never really believed could come true) and make them the bare minimum.

Standards Are What Gave You A Roof Over Your Head

When we are young, we learn certain standards about how we should live. They are not always comfortable standards. Show me a single kid that enjoys eating their broccoli or brushing their teeth twice a day, or even doing their homework. But there is a certain standard – you need your veggies, healthy teeth and a decent education to get anywhere in life.

Now, look at your adult life. There are certain standards you never break because you don’t allow yourself. No matter how tired you are, you finish the project before the deadline. You stay at your job even when you hate it – it is what pays the rent. And being homeless is below the standards you set for yourself.

When we believe we absolutely must achieve a certain goal, we always do.

The thing about being an adult is you have to parent yourself. And too often we live according to standards we set decades ago. Yes, not being homeless is good, but living in a penthouse apartment is better. Not letting yourself become morbidly obese is fine, but how about getting stronger each day?

Why You Set The Bar So Low

It wouldn’t be realistic to make Buy a penthouse apartment. your basic standard if your previous goal was just having a place to yourself. The margin of difference is too great and you would never accept the former as a true standard. Instead, it would end up in the same place failed New Year’s resolutions do.

But it makes you wonder, why don’t we choose to live better and strive for more?

One word. Fear.

You are so afraid of failing that you prefer not to try at all. And if you do try, you end up self-sabotaging without even realising it. And yes, we all self-sabotage. Here are a few forms of it that are silently ruining your dreams:

Procrastination

Busying yourself with minor tasks (I don’t have the time is such an easy excuse not to go to the gym.)

At our core, we don’t want to make failure an option and so we push it as far deep into our unconscious as possible. When those unfulfilled hopes come back to haunt us, we say ‘Well, at least I have it better than X.’

The Simple Solution For Raising Your Standards

You are not going to like it but it will work.

Simply imagine the worst case scenario. Visualise it, feel it, make yourself believe it already happened. Make failure so well-known that you no longer fear it. Because truth be told, the worst case scenario of failing your fitness goals is not all that dramatic. Yes, you might not change one bit. You might give up because it’s too hard. But, to be completely honest with yourself:

You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Now do the opposite. Imagine victory. Taste it, live it, take ownership of it. Make it your absolutely unbreakable standard and remind yourself of it every day. Whether you do it through a vision board, a new phone background, or by surrounding yourself with people who already made it (my personal favourite), the point is to make victory inevitable.

Now that you have overcome your fear of failing, there is really nothing holding you back.

Raising Your Standards In Health And Fitness

Can you define health? Are you healthy? Most people think they are, as long as nothing brings them to their doctor’s office.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. (World Health Organisation)

The conventional attitude toward health is a perfect example of low standards at play. If ‘not being ill’ is your only standard for health, you are missing out on the complete physical, mental and social well-being that you can achieve. Because (once again in the words of the World Health Organisation):

The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.

With that in mind, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and think about what this all means to you. What standards are you setting for yourself and what small actions can you take to raise those standards. I guarantee it will make a huge difference to your success this year!